GFOA

GFOA

Gain insight through research from the Government Finance Officers Association.

  1. 2 Feb

    GFOA Audio Insights: Rethinking Materiality in Government Accounting

    This report suggests local governments are often overly cautious about what counts as “material,” adding unnecessary cost and complexity to financial reporting. By shifting the focus to decision-useful accuracy rather than exhaustive precision, the profession can streamline reporting, save staff time, and maintain public trust.

  2. 21 Jan

    GFOA Audio Insights: First Principles of Public Finance

    First principles are the basis for any field, including public finance. They express a fundamental truth about public finance. They remain consistent despite technology and organizational characteristics of public finance that change over time. Understanding first principles is a necessary complement to knowing best practices. First principles provide the foundation for deviating from best practices when it becomes necessary. Listen to this research to learn more.

  3. 21/01/2025

    GFOA Audio Insights: Budgeting is Better with Rhythm

    Life needs rhythm. The human body has a heart rhythm, circadian sleep-wake rhythm, breathing rhythm, and more. Being in rhythm is key to a long and healthy life. Local government budget offices also need to establish a rhythm for the internal budget process. A lack of rhythm can lead to two big problems. Listen to this new research to learn how the City of Brighton, Colorado, created a rhythm for the internal budget process and how you can too.

  4. 10/01/2025

    GFOA Audio Insights: Budget Games

    Our new research delves into the tactics or “games" used by participants in the budget process to secure more resources. The most common such game is "The Padding Play", where budget requestors inflate their needs. Listen to learn more on how to contain and even defeat these tactics.

  5. 23/09/2024

    GFOA Audio Insights: Budget Officer as the Decision Architect

    Organizations benefit from decision architecture. Budget officers can be the decision architects of local governments by building on four job responsibilities that allow them to reduce the impact of well-known problems of bias and noise in human decision processes. Listen to learn more.

  6. 11/09/2024

    GFOA Audio Insights: Power, Politics, and Budgeting

    “Power politics” is the use of power for selfish gain at the expense of broader community. This is incompatible with the purpose of local government budgeting. However, the finance officer can “change the game” and redirect the energy of power politics to more constructive ends. Listen to this research to learn how.

  7. 19/08/2024

    GFOA Audio Insights: Simplifying Complexity

    Reality is complex; mental models simplify it. A mental model is a tool that helps us make sense of the world and manage complexity and large amounts of information. For example, in public finance, thinking of reserves or rainy-day funds as a government’s savings account is a mental model. This approach simplifies the complex idea of fund balances by comparing it to something familiar from everyday life. This report will explain how you can use mental models to enhance understanding and decision-making in public finance.

  8. 26/07/2024

    GFOA Audio Insights: The City of Arlington Wins GFOA's Fiscal Fluency Challenge

    The City of Arlington, Texas, created videos to make public finance easy to understand. They used themes like “Build, Unite, Create,” comparing budgeting to a Lego set, and “Budget Bites,” which was styled like a cooking show. Arlington’s approach serves as a model for other cities looking to improve their budget communications.

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About

Gain insight through research from the Government Finance Officers Association.

Information

  • Creator
    GFOA
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    111
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © GFOA
  • Show Website
    GFOA